The fifth biennial conference of C19: The Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists will be hosted by the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fenton will present "Free Quakers, Founding Fathers, and Native Americans: Ned Buntline’s Nativist Historiograph" at the "Religious Climates and the Formation of US Literary History" panel

Each month, the American Philosophical Society hosts a lunch presentation focused on new research and emerging topics given by APS staff or scholars from Philadelphia institutions and beyond. From the U.S. Constitution to 18th-century French mathematicians, the topics are as varied as the research interests and collections at the APS. Fenton will share research discoveries from manuscript collections and preview the online diary research guide he has developed during his fellowship.

Fenton will serve on the Mentorship Team of the four-day Connected Academics Career Development Boot Camp at the MLA 2018 convention in New York City. The boot camp will build on the success of the Connected Academics New York City Proseminar on Careers. Twenty boot camp fellows have been selected on a competitive basis to explore expanded career horizons through convention sessions, workshops, a site visit to the New York Public Library, and guided discussion sessions.

ITHAKA convened 160 academic library, publishing, and other US higher education leaders on November 29, 2017 for The Next Wave 2017 — a day of talks and conversation aimed at exploring how institutions are evolving to better serve learners and researchers. Fenton served as host and navigator for the day. He opened with eyes-wide-open remarks about declining public trust in higher education institutions and increasing financial pressure including that likely to be felt from ongoing US tax reform. Against this backdrop, sixteen speakers from a wide range of institutions and organizations shared work underway to tackle our biggest challenges: enrolling and graduating more students — particularly those with fewer resources and college preparation than in the past, competing globally and supporting research as practices are shifting, and aligning publishing with new digital knowledge outputs and online personalized learning pathways.

At the Library Company of Philadelphia's 286th annual dinner, hosted at the Union League of Philadelphia, Fenton discussed his work on the Digital Paxton as the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Fellow (2016-17).

As part of the Connected Academics initiative, the partner institutions and MLA meet annually to engage with innovative leaders who want to address tough questions about doctoral education in the humanities and suggest sustainable models for change and advancement in professional development. The second institute, hosted by Arizona State University (ASU), takes place on September 13 - 15, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The institute includes partner presentations and afternoon workshops dedicated to the collaborative revision of the MLA toolkit and transitional career advisement best practices that can lead to sustainable applications for supporting doctoral students. Fenton presented his work on Digital Paxton at the "Rethinking the Dissertation" panel.